I get majority of my parenting book recommendations from my friend Cat, and they are always excellent. My November book is Raising Lifelong Learners, and I like it so much that I decided to share it with my readers before I finished reading it. One thing that I like about it is written in a conversational manner and doesn’t look like one long lecture. The author Lucy Calkins is a “teachers’ teacher”, but she is also a mother of two boys, and some of her ideas will probably be even more interesting for parents who are raising boys. I found some good tips and tricks in every section, but I was very interested in her views on writing. She is very passionate about encouraging writing just as we encourage talking – recognizing every scribble and every shaky letter as a major achievement and not rushing the process. I had a lot of questions of “but what about spelling?” in my head, and she answered them in a way I could agree with. I also really liked her ideas about play and about fostering work ethic through play. In other words, this book has been informative and inspiring at the same time. I also took away a lot of book recommendations and author recommendations. The book is written more than 10 years ago, but some things never get old.

I am very interested in this book. I am certainly curious about her thoughts on spelling and grammar. Our public school (at elementary level) encourages creativity and doesn't focus as much on grammar and spelling. Sometimes it drives me crazy; I want my kids to learn the right way. I wonder if they will get too comfortable not worrying about spelling and grammar. I always correct their work (even assignments that were already graded) and tell them why it has to be changed. I worry about that too - am I making them feel bad about their work? ACK!

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I am glad you are here. I am a working parent who tried to bring purpose to my limited time with my daughter. My goal is to raise her a compassionate, independent, and enthusiastic thinker. Find out more about me and my blog in About Me section.

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